University of Washington: Ranked No. 1 hospital in Seattle and state

U.S. News & World Report publishes annual rankings; rehab medicine, cancer, other specialty services at UWMC are listed among nation's top 20.

UW Medical Center, part of the UW Medicine health system, today earned U.S. News & World Report’s No. 1 ranking for care in Washington state and in the Seattle metro area. It is the fifth consecutive year that UW Medical Center has achieved that dual distinction.

The news magazine has published its 2016-2017 national, state and local rankings of “Best Hospitals” across the United States, resulting from its evaluation of nearly 5,000 facilities.

Julie Elting Wessel

(Click to enlarge.)

UW Medical Center received top-20 national rankings in four specialties: rehabilitation medicine (No. 4; the program is jointly located at UW Medicine Harborview Medical Center); cancer (No. 7, provided jointly with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance); ear, nose and throat (No. 16); and geriatrics (No. 20).

“I am immensely proud of the nurses, faculty physicians and staff who coordinate and deliver patient care at UW Medical Center,” said Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO, UW Medicine. “To be distinguished among all of the hospitals in the state and in Seattle is a reflection of the excellent outcomes that UW Medicine strives to provide every patient.”

U.S. News, as part of its methodology, graded hospitals on care involving specific conditions and procedures. UW Medicine’s four hospitals – UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, and Valley Medical Center – earned a “high performing” designation in these areas:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair ^{1, 2}

• Aortic valve surgery ¹

• Heart-bypass surgery ¹

• Heart failure ^{1, 2, 3}

• Colon cancer surgery ¹

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ^{1, 3}

• Hip replacement ^{3, 4}

• Knee replacement ^{1, 3, 4}

• Lung cancer surgery ¹

(Legend: 1=UW Medical Center; 2=Harborview Medical Center;

3=Valley Medical Center; 4=Northwest Hospital & Medical Center)

Additionally, UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center and Valley Medical Center each earned a “Best Hospital" in Puget Sound designation.

The U.S. News “Best Hospitals” rankings, in their 27th year, are intended to help guide patients to healthcare facilities that deliver outstanding care.

Media contact: Kim Blakeley, UW Medicine, cell: 206.795.8450; krb13@uw.edu

About UW Medicine

UW Medicine is one of the top-rated academic medical systems in the world. With a mission to improve the health of the public, UW Medicine educates the next generation of physicians and scientists, leads one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive medical research programs, and provides outstanding care to patients from across the globe. UW Medicine’s four hospitals – Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, University of Washington Medical Center and Valley Medical Center – admit more than 64,000 patients each year. A network of hospital-based and outpatient clinics, including 12 UW Neighborhood Clinics, see more than 1.3 million patients each year.

The UW School of Medicine, part of the UW Medicine system, leads the internationally recognized, community-based WWAMI Program, serving the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. The UW School of Medicine has been ranked No. 1 in the nation in primary-care training for more than 20 years by U.S. News & World Report. School of Medicine faculty receive more than $1 billion per year in research funding, ranking it as the top public institution recipient of biomedical research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and second among all public and private institutions for NIH funding.

UW Medicine has 26,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly $5 billion. Also part of the UW Medicine system are Airlift Northwest and the UW Physicians practice group, the largest physician practice plan in the region. UW Medicine shares in the ownership and governance of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children’s, and also shares in ownership of Children’s University Medical Group with Seattle Children’s.

For more information, visit uwmedicine.org.

Tagged with: Honors and Awards, U.S. News & World Report, rankings, UW Medical Center